Before the Birth of a Child
by kodoku na oujo
Summary: A little story of what happened prior to Naruto's birth.


**I at first wanted to put up a NaruSasu fic for today, but when I thought about it, today just seemed a little too special for smut. :slaps herself: I can't believe I just said that 8/. But that's what I thought and this is what I decided to post up for Naruto's birthday.**

**Damn it. I just missed 10/10. I'm sorry Naruto. Forgive me X/. I'm sorry if this sounds rushed and isn't too good. I've been working everyday this week and I didn't have a lot of time. But I'd do anything for Naruto… :awkward pause: Anything :creepy stare:. Heh, heh XP. Sorry about that. Now to the story.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did, Yondaime would still be alive. Cuz he hot XD ha, ha.**

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The village of Konohagakure was still and peaceful on a cold morning late in the month of January. The winters of Konoha were not as cold as some of the other hidden villages, but there were days were snow would fall. Those were the days that were very special and rare to the habitants of Konoha. But winter would soon come to an end and spring would gracefully come. But Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage, did not mind the fleeting winter season. For he enjoyed the warm springs more than the cold winters. 

But enough about the springtime, for a special event happened before the spring had even begun to arrive. The momentous occasion happened on the most peaceful of days one could ever imagine.

There was a knock on the door to the Hokage's office. Minato looked up from his paperwork and his gaze was now fixed on the door. After a moment of peaceful silence, the door slide open and a young woman with red hair entered into the room.

"Kushina?" Minato said in confusion as he stood to great the woman from the Whirlpool village. "Kushina, what are you doing here?" Uzumaki Kushina did not look like she usually did. Her skin was a little paler than it was the day before. Her beautiful red hair seemed to be more unruly. There were slight bags under her eyes that seemed like they were red from crying. "Kushina." He whispered once more to the kunoichi that stood in front of him.

The redhead then muttered something that the Fourth was unable to understand. He simply looked at her in confusion.

"What? Kushina, what are you say—"

"I'm pregnant!" Kushina yelled at the blonde man. Needless to say, that short statement took Minato by complete surprise. So much so that it took a full minute for the statement to fully sink in. Kushina glared at the blonde for the long silent pause.

"You… You're—"

"Pregnant! Yes." Kushina finished the statement for the man before her. She really was not in the mood for this type of reaction right now. She knew any moment he would freak on her and say how he's not ready to be a father.

"This is amazing!" Minato said loudly. And all of Kushina pervious thoughts were proven false.

"You're… happy?" The redhead asked slowly.

"Of course I'm happy. I'm going to be a father." Minato wrapped his arms around the kunoichi and hugged her tightly. Kushina was overwhelmed. She came to the Hokage tower expecting him to reject her and baby. Kushina latched herself onto the tan man and started to cry. Her hormones were already kicking in.

The couple stayed like that for a while. Both of them simply enjoying the comfort the other provided.

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"What do you think of this one?" The Uzumaki woman asked Minato as she held up a tiny black top with an orange swirl design in the center. The two were out shopping for their unborn child. The couple had already started to prepare for the new child, even if the redhead's stomach has yet to show much growth in the few short months.

Winter has come and gone and has left spring in its place. The Sakura trees were in bloom and cherry blossom petals were falling from the treetops. Minato ignore the question that Kushina had asked and looked out at the peaceful scenery that the village hidden in the leaves provided. Yondaime let out a sigh and smiled.

"Minato." Kushina hissed at the tall man. The blonde snapped out of his thoughts and looked over toward the angered kunoichi.

"Er… Yes?" He replied.

"I asked you if you liked this." The redhead still glared. Minato swallowed a thump that formed in his throat and nodded.

"Yeah, I really like it."

Kushina then smiled to herself and resumed looking through other shirt the small store had to offer. The Fourth looked at the beautiful woman and smiled to himself as he returned to looking at out at the crowded village street. He wondered what would happen once the child that Kushina was carrying was born. The couple had agreed that the redhead would stay in Konohagakure at least until the child was born. Minato did not want him nor his unborn son to leave such a beautiful village like Konohagakure.

But when Minato look at the beautiful women beside him, he knew that things would hopefully things would work out in the end.

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As time went on the seasons changed once again. Spring had now given way to the hot humid months of summer. And still the Yondaime looked at the village throw the window of his office and thought of just how peaceful it looked. Kushina sat with him in his office. The redhead was very annoyed. Sitting around doing nothing was never the woman's style, considering how much a tomboy she was in her youth. The kunoichi sighed as she crossed her arms over her swollen stomach. She was now well into her pregnancy and her stomach seemed to grow by the day.

Speaking of the redhead's ever growing stomach, it decided the gurgle loudly. The sound echoed across the small room. Minato laughed silently to himself as Kushina glared at him.

"This baby always seems to be hungry." Kushina pouted. "And all I ever want to eat now is ramen(1)." Kushina then decided to stare at the wall in hopes that it may catch on fire from her gaze alone.

The blonde man stood from his desk and walked over to the irritable woman. "Then how about we feed it." He said with a big grin. Kushina eventually gave in and the two headed out into the village.

"Ichiraku(2), huh?" The kunoichi looked up at the sign that read "Ramen Ichiraku."

"It's been here for as long as I can remember. Their ramen is the greatest." Minato smiled as he looked at the old, familiar sign. He then grabbed Kushina's hand and pulled her into the small stand. He ordered two bowls of miso ramen and signal the redhead to sit down beside him.

The woman looked suspiciously at the little ramen stand. Minato noticed her weary stares and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. He gave the woman a brilliant smile and Kushina could feel her heart flutter in her chest.

"Trust me. You'll love it." Minato said just as their bowls of ramen were placed in front of them. Minato said his thanks for the meal and began to eat. Kushina quietly mumbled a thanks as well and slowly took a bite of the flavored noodles. Her eyes shot open wide and she began to devour the contents of her bowl. Minato chuckled at her actions. "See. Told you that you would love it."

"Okay, so your were right. Stop bragging." Kushina smiled at the blonde and he returned the smile back. In that moment he knew that he wanted to share his life with the woman beside him for as long as he possibly could.

Kushina paused after she finished eating her ramen. She looked at the swirled decoration from her ramen that she had left untouched. She picked it up with her chopsticks and look at it.

"Naruto." The redhead said suddenly. Minato looked up from his meal to see the kunoichi beside him.

"Hn? Naruto?" He asked. "Did you want mine as well?" Minato was about to pick up his own from his ramen bowl, but Kushina spoke again.

"No, I didn't want to eat it. I just thought of what we should name the baby." Minato looked at the woman in confusion.

"Are you going to name him Ramen?" Kushina rolled her eyes at the blonde man beside her. She then pushed the swirled decoration closer to his face.

"No, not _Ramen_. We should name it Naruto." Kushina smiled with pride at the name she had chosen, but Minato let out a small laugh.

"It's this because ramen is all you seem to eat nowadays?"

"No!" Kushina slammed her hand down on the table. "Naruto is a beautiful name and just because I happened to think of it while I was looking at this Naruto…" The redhead paused to push her chopsticks closer to the Yondaime once again. "That does mean that I'm naming him after ramen!" Minato backed away a little and gave a nervous smile.

"Okay, okay I believe you." When Kushina calmed down and moved away from the blonde, he sat normally on his stool. He smiled as he looked over at the redhead. "Naruto it is then." Kushina looked up at the tanned man from the corner of her eyes and a small blush formed on her cheeks. She placed the naruto back into her bowl and ordered one more bowl of ramen.

Minato continued eating his own ramen when a thought struck his mind.

"Hopefully the baby's a boy, because Naruto would be a weird name to give girl." Kushina then punched the blonde-haired man in his arm. He deserved it for ruining the moment.

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Summer had faded and had now made way for autumn. The leaves on the tress that surround Konohagakure were full of bright reds, yellows and oranges. The Yondaime looked at the colorful leaves dancing in the wind and noticed how beautiful they truly were. The blonde man soaked in the peaceful atmosphere of the village and sighed.

Kushina's stomach was very, very large now. It had been almost nine months since she found out she was pregnant and was very anxious as to when she would be expecting the child to be born. The redhead rubbed his swollen stomach gently and smiled. The two stood on the rooftop of Kushina's current apartment building. They looked out at the beautiful scene and smiled while they held one another's hand. It would be times like these that the two would cherish later in their lives.

That is when two very important events happened almost at the same time. A loud crash was heard throughout the village and a large cloud of smoke to been seen at the border of Konohagakure. Minato let go of Kushina's hand and ran to the edge of the building. At that moment, Kushina fell to her knees and hugged her stomach. The Yondaime looked back and ran to Kushina's side. He put his hands on her shoulders and pulled her closer to him.

"What's wrong?! What's happening?!" The blonde said loudly.

The redhead then held onto his hand and squeezed it tightly. "It's… It's nothing. My… my water, just broke."

Minato looked down at the ground to see a puddle of liquid beneath the woman in front of him. His eyes showed more panic rush into the blonde.

"What are you still doing here?" Kushina said as she glared at the Yondaime. "You're the Hokage. Go protect your village and it's people."

"But you—"

"But nothing! I'll be fine without the Yondaime Hokage's help, but this village won't be!" Kushina's look of determination made Minato's choice a little easier to make. He hugged the redhead and then rushed toward the place where more large clouds of dust were forming.

Kushina watched the blonde leave and she hugged her stomach even tighter as pain shot through her body. She knew something was wrong. The kunoichi then slowly fell to the ground and passed out on the rooftop. Medical ninjas would not find her until several hours later.

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The Nine-tailed fox continued to wreak havoc and mayhem at the border of the village. Many brave Shinobi fought the giant beast, but the efforts were all in vain. The Yondaime looked in horror as the demon continued to kill the many teams of ninja. He knew that there could only be one way to save the village, but it would mean taking his own life. Minato was about to start the jutsu to seal the Nine-tailed fox away for good, when he heard the horrible news.

Uzumaki Kushina had died giving birth to her newly born son.

Minato, in his grief asked for the baby to be brought to him. When he held his son in his arms, he tried his hardest to hold back the tears that were forming at the corners of his eyes. He wiped them away and then looked out on the demon with the same look of determination that Kushina had given to him only hours ago.

"Sarutobi-sama," Minato said the man who stood beside him. The same man who was the Sandaime Hokage. "I can only hope that the people of this village will see his child, Uzumaki Naruto, as a hero. The savior of Konohagakure." Sarutobi did not understand the man at the time but when the Yondaime began the hand signs for the jutsu to seal the demon fox, he knew exactly what he was doing.

The Sandaime hoped that Namikaze Minato's last wishes would be fulfilled.

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(1) I know that babies don't always love what a mother eats while she's pregnant, but I just thought it was cute. Besides, even before Naruto was born I could see him loving ramen.

(2) Coincidence? I think so X3 lol.

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**Yeah I know it deals more with Naruto's parents than it does himself. But don't you think Naruto would enjoy a little story about his parents for his birthday? I do. So there XP lol. I thought it was just too cute to not write about Kushina and Minato. I figure that they would be a cute couple. But that's just my viewpoint.**

**And the whole Kushina dieing while giving birth… Well, I didn't want to do it. If I had things my way, Naruto would have grown up in a loving family in which both were alive and well. And the only other thing I could think of would be for Kushina to reject the baby after Minato died and that wasn't a very nice idea. It made me sad to think some one would actually hate Naruto. So this is better.**


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